1 Samuel 16:1–7
1 Now the Lord said to Samuel, “aHow long will you grieve over Saul, since bI have rejected him from being king over Israel? cFill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to dJesse the Bethlehemite, for I have eselected a king for Myself among his sons.”
2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? When Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “aTake a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’
3 “You shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and aI will show you what you shall do; and byou shall anoint for Me the one whom I 1designate to you.”
4 So Samuel did what the Lord said, and came to aBethlehem. And the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said, “bDo you come in peace?”
5 He said, “In peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. aConsecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” He also consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they entered, he looked at aEliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.”
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for 1God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, abut the Lord looks at the heart.”